This invention relates to a herbicidal composition containing, as active ingredient, a compound selected from the group consisting of salinomycin, esters and salts thereof.
A variety of herbicides have been used in order to protect paddy and upland fields from damage caused by weeds and grasses and to obtain increased crop yields. Recently, focus has been placed on the development of a herbicide capable of selectively killing weeds without doing any harm to crops when applied to useful crops and weeds simultaneously. However, the need still exists for a superior herbicide that is highly active against a wide range of weed species and applicable over prolonged period of treatment.
In efforts to find new and improved herbicidal agents possessing the above-stated properties, it has now been found that a compound selected from the group consisting of salinomycin, esters and salts thereof is very active as a herbicidal agent against paddy weeds, broad-leaf weeds, and perennial weeds when applied to paddy fields or upland fields, and it does not cause any harm to crops.